Churchgoers hold lit candles at a Christmas Eve service.

Unexpected Christmas Texts to Preach

Christmas is one of the great holidays of the Christian church when we celebrate the incarnation of the Son of God. Even our secular society joins the church in celebrating this event, but often for economic reasons. For the church and the preacher, Christmas offers a tremendous opportunity to emphasize one of the greatest events of all time. The incarnation of the Son of God to bring salvation to a sinful world is the greatest news ever. Both believers and unbelievers should fully understand the significance of Christmas. Since the world joins in the celebration of this event, the church should maximize this opportunity to present the message of redemption to a lost and needy world.

The main problem for the preacher is how to keep our preaching fresh during the yearly celebration of Christmas. The nativity accounts are found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and they provide plenty of preaching material for the Christmas season. Matthew offers the genealogy and birth of the Messiah in 1:1-21 and the unique account of the visit of the magi in 2:1-12 along with the subsequent persecution of the Christ child (2:13-21). Our manger scenes usually include a figure of Joseph along with the visit of the three wise men. We have an open invitation to preach Christ from the Gospel of Matthew.

Luke’s account of the birth of Christ is much fuller. He begins with the birth of John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah. His account includes three glorious announcements relating to the birth of the coming King, the announcements to Zachariah (Luke 1:1-25), to Mary (Luke 1:26-45), and the announcement to the shepherds (2:1-20). Luke also records three “songs” uttered in response to the glorious coming of the Savior of the world—the song of Mary (Luke 1:46-55), the song of Zachariah (Luke 1:67-70), and the song of the angelic host (Luke 2:14-15). Luke even includes the marvelous account of the visit to Bethlehem, the birth in a stable, and the joyful visit of the shepherds (Luke 2:1-20). Again, our manger scenes include a stable, shepherds, animals, and angels. Good Christmas material can be drawn from the presentation of the baby Jesus in the temple and the subsequent praises by Simeon and Anna (Luke 2:21-38). Last Christmas, I preached a message at a banquet held for senior citizens entitled “What Senior Citizens Said at the Birth of Christ.” They were Zachariah and Elizabeth, Simeon and Anna, all advanced in years.

For some of us who have preached for decades in the same pulpit to mostly the same people, the problem is that we have exhausted the nativity passages, and we look for other texts that may be suitable for the Christmas sermon. I would like to suggest some unexpected Christmas texts we can use to communicate the Christmas message in a fresh way. These are some that I have used over the years.

Christmas in Isaiah

The advent of Christ was prophesied in the Old Testament beginning with the words to Adam in Genesis 3:15. The blessed promise is repeated throughout the Old Testament, and one of these choice prophets is Isaiah. I preached a series based on four texts from Isaiah entitled “Christmas in Isaiah.” The four texts were Isaiah 7:14, the prophecy of the virgin birth of Christ, Isaiah 9:1-7, the promise of the great light for a dark world, Isaiah 11:1-10, the promise of peace on earth, and Isaiah 53:1-6, the picture of the Messiah from the manger to the cross. All these texts are of the promised Savior quoted in the New Testament as the fulfillment of the prophecy of the coming Savior.

Christmas in the Gospel of John

We do not usually use John’s Gospel as a text for Christmas, but the message of the incarnation is there in a marvelous way. Let me suggest two texts that can be used to communicate the Christmas message. We can preach “The Glory of Christmas” in John 1:1-18. Whereas Matthew and Luke take us back to Bethlehem, the Apostle John takes us back to eternity past in describing the incarnation of the Son of God. Here we see the glory of Christ in His eternal relationship with the Father (John 1:1-2), in His role as Creator (John 1:3-5),  as the Light of the world (John 1:6-13), and then as the Revealer of God in His incarnation (John 1:14-18). Here we see the emphasis on the divine nature of Christ, a truth which draws our faith and demands our submission to Christ.

The Gospel of John also provides an unexpected text in John 10:10-11. This highly evangelistic text can also serve as a Christmas text in preaching “The Real Meaning of Christmas.” Here, I divided the text into two parts. First, the “thieves” who stole or destroyed the real meaning of Christmas and thus leave us in a hopeless and darkened world. The second part is the hope in the coming of Christ, who came to give us eternal life, an abundant life now and forever. He did so by laying down His life for us (John 10:11). Here is a great text to encourage the believer and a great text to evangelize the lost.

Christmas in the Epistles

The advent of Christ is mentioned often in the epistles of the New Testament, though not in the same format as described in the nativity narratives of Matthew and Luke. Still, there are some clear and powerful texts that focus on the incarnation of God that serve as great texts for preaching our Christmas sermons. Let me mention three unexpected texts. First is 2 Corinthians 8:9, from which I preached a sermon entitled “God’s Indescribable Gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15). The sermon structure was four questions: 1. What is Christmas about?

Answer: “To know the grace of God.“ 2. Who was this baby Jesus? Answer: “That though He was rich.” 3. What did Jesus Do? Answer: “For your sakes became poor.” And 4. Why did Jesus do this? Answer: “So that through His poverty we might become rich.”

Galatians 4:4-5 is also one of these unexpected texts and a gem we can preach at Christmas. The text sums up the purpose of the incarnation of Christ in answer to those who were seeking to be justified by the works of the Law. The careful explanation of the advent of the Messiah shows that, because he was born as a Jew, Jesus’ atonement redeemed and released those who were under the Law. The clear features of the coming of Christ are stated. The sermon revolves around a question: Why was there a first Christmas? The answer is fourfold: 1. To fulfill God’s promise (Galatians 4:4), 2. To express God’s love (Galatians 4:4-5), 3. To provide a complete sacrifice for sins (Galatians 4:4-5), and 4. To bring us into the family of God on the basis of faith (Galatians 4:5). Here is a correction on erroneous views of salvation, a comfort for the believer, and an invitation for sinners to come to salvation not by works but by faith in Christ.

Another unexpected Christmas text is Titus 2:11-14, which is a summary of the Christian faith introduced by the words, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men” (Titus 2:11). It points to the incarnation in the words “has appeared” and takes us to the return of Christ in the words “looking for the blessed hope and appearing” (Titus 2:13). I used the analogy of a Christmas gift to explain the text. First, there is the name tag which tells us from whom and to whom, from God to all men (Titus 2:11). Second, there is the nature of the gift itself, which is salvation (Titus 2:11-14), which includes a new person (Titus 2:14), a new way of life (Titus 2:12, 14), and a new hope (Titus 2:13). Third, there is the price of the gift, which is the sacrifice of Christ’s death as the redemption price for sin (Titus 2:14). The text instructs, inspires, and invites the unbeliever to Christ.

Christmas is a time of joy and blessing, a season worthy of celebration. Let us use this splendid opportunity to make known the true meaning of Christmas to Christians and non-Christians alike. We may even use unexpected texts in the process.

©2023 Alex Montoya. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

About The Author

Alex Montoya
Alex Montoya

Alex D. Montoya is the senior pastor at First Fundamental Bible Church in Whittier, Calif. He is the author of the book, Preaching with a Passion.

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